Hi All, Just an FYI for those interested. When compiling an application in RELEASE mode in BCB 5 the function std::clock() does not always return what you expect it to. In those cases, either an overflow or an invalid operation exception occurs. Using a "long double" for the return type prevents the exceptions, but the values are still incorrect (and way off!). If you don't need a resolution greater than one second, consider using the time(NULL) function instead. This one does work. -- Mike